This post is a little late, considering that it’s already the 10th 17th 18th day of 2010! It’s also very long… so please bear with me. If you don’t like to read so much, skip to the end.
2009 was a very hectic year for me – so many different things happened! Before I go into my thoughts on the year, let’s just do a recap of what happened.
January 2009
The highlight was of course the Connexion 2009 event – “Connexion 2009: National Engagement – New Media for the New Generation“.
- Exhibition in the Foyer (image courtesy of Connexion.sg)
Held at the Singapore Management University Admin Building, Connexion 2009 was the inaugural networking session organised by my department for National Education practitioners. This event was significant for me, as it was a coming together of my two key work interests – new media and National Education.
February 2009
Immediately after the craziness of Connexion 2009 was the craziness of Total Defence. In 2009, we asked Singaporeans the fundamental question, “What will you defend?“.
For the longest time, the public has had the perception that Total Defence is something the “gahmen” does, or worse, something for MINDEF/SAF and Home Team agencies to handle. In reality, Total Defence is about every Singaporean playing a part in the defence of the country. “What will you defend?” was a small step in changing the mindset of the general public towards Total Defence, trying to share with them that Total Defence is a personal thing.
In February, I did manage to have some semblance of life outside work, and went to the Sentosa Garden Festival with Victor Tan and some other bloggers.
It was also an opportunity to take out my Diana F+ for a test run. This was by far my best shot to date:
March 2009
Attended my first Blogout, organised by The Digital Movement. Guest starring Preetam Rai (I remember that his was a fantastic presentation, about how to pick up Japanese girls.
March was also the period for department workplan.
And on the last day of March, I organised Tweet Tuesday with Claudia. Hmm… should we have another one this year? An annual event??!?? Ha ha.
April 2009
We had the Total Defence Appreciation Function, which marked the end of the high key period for Total Defence. I think the highlight of the function was the after party at Winebar, Zouk! Even my director’s boss joined us for drinks!
I was also privileged to be invited to the Singtel Formula 1 Blogger Event and was given the chance to actually drive the Formula 1 Simulator!
Rounding off the month was Nexus’ 10th Anniversary celebrations. We were given the opportunity to visit the Singapore Flyer and Marina Barrage!
Check out the funky orange umbrellas (that’s our anniversary gift!)
May 2009
Sydney!!! Finally took a break from work to go on a slightly longer holiday. Climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge, revisited my Uni, and met up with some of my crazy and brilliant Uni mates.
May was also probably when the most significant event of 2009 happened. I asked the woman I love to marry me 
– this was on her birthday.
She said yes
June 2009
A couple of things happened in June, like my cousin’s wedding, and an ad hoc outing to have seafood dinner at Seafood Paradise, Defu Lane, but it was also the month where Ai Lin and I revisited Jurong Bird Park for a fun date. It’s been like ages since we went there. Here’s a photo of us at the world’s tallest man-made waterfall. It’s so tall that I couldn’t capture it in the shot!
July 2009
Played host to my uncle, aunt and cousin, Claire from the UK. This is a shot of them at Wild Rocket, Emily Hill. Fantastic food! Must check it out if you haven’t been there.
It was also around the time for National Day Parade and we had a fantastic launch of the NDP Roadshow, featuring two of my branch’s projects – the My Pledge Short Film Competition and Singapore My Home 2009 Photo Competition. The roadshow was in Toa Payoh HDB Hub.
But it’s not just all work and no play – my department had a cohesion event at my Deputy Director’s place. Mahjong, Ugly Dolls and other board game mania.
August 2009
Met up again with the great bunch of friends I made in Junior College at the annual council gathering.
If you’re familiar with VJC’s architecture, this is near where the link bridge used to be. We’d often hang out on the link bridge, playing carrom, blowing soap bubbles or some other inane activity. Ah… youth!
Not to forget National Day. It was the best show IMHO for the past 5 years.
Immediately after NDP came one of the most challenging periods of 2009, my In-Camp Training. I was deputy head of my branch, but the heads of the branch and another branch had deferred, so I ended up double-hatting both roles. Shitty period, but managed to pull through with the help of my NS buddies. Here are some of them at the Youth Olympic Games Launch.
September 2009
Army Open House. Work, nuff said… although I did manage to go on some of the rides and snap a few photos for the Pioneer Magazine competition. Alas, no luck… didn’t win.
October 2009
My cousin Charles and his girlfriend Jemma stopped by Singapore as part of their round-the-world holiday. I hadn’t seen Charles in over 15 years. It was really great meeting up with him again.
I managed to organise a dinner outing – cousins only! No adults allowed! Ok, we’re all adults now, but you get the point. Charles and Jemma are the ang moh looking ones (just in case you can’t tell).
November 2009
I had the privilege of travelling to Chengdu, China for the World Cyber Games 2009.
You can see here the massive exhibition hall in which the games took place. I think that it’s larger than the Singapore EXPO.
I didn’t really have a great time in Chengdu. I didn’t like the food and the weather was bad. And it’s pretty polluted as well. I think I won’t be going to China for a while.
Back in Singapore, I had the opportunity to bring one of my friends, Janice to the Marina Barrage. She had never been there. Managed to capture this shot, which I’m a bit proud of:
December 2009
Finally! We’re in December. Has it been an ordeal reading so far? Ok, it’s been hard for me blogging about this too!
So my first real blogger event – HPB’s World AIDS Day event.
Also managed to organise the long awaited reunion of the VJC 13th Students’ Council. Although not many turned up, it was good catching up with some of the people whom I hadn’t seen for ages like Mei Kuen and Lu Ping.
24seven’s Hat-py Party on 30 Dec.
And the year ended, with me crossing Malaysian Customs (at the stroke of midnight!) on my trip to Kuala Lumpur with Ai Lin’s family.
Thoughts
I think that for me, 2009 sped by like a non-stop speeding train. I was really amazed in the last few weeks of 2009 to realise that an entire year had gone by already. I met new friends (esp. the 24seven peeps), reunited with old ones (student council, reservist), and really kick-started my photography hobby.
2009 was also a milestone year for me. I turned 30. That’s gotta be significant right? I guess, looking back, although work was really shit at some times, 2009 was overall, a challenge and an enjoyment.
I’m reminded of Steve Job’s famous Stanford University address in 2005 – his three stories – about connecting the dots, love and loss, and death.
Connecting the Dots. Steve said that “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever.”
Somehow, the events of 2009 seem to hold some sort of common thread – social media and photography – doing the things that I love. Friendships – how a group of 17 year old teens can still stay connected 13 years after they first met, how cousins who haven’t met in 15 years can reconnect so easily, how friends from a different culture can remain in contact, and what the future holds for the friends I just met this year. It’s looking bright.
Love and Loss. Jobs – The “only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle.”
Reflecting on the past year, I realise that I really enjoy photography and social media and keeping in contact with people. I haven’t found what I want to do for the rest of my life, but I believe that these three things hold something in their combination.
Death. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
Not really sure how this relates to 2009, but I think it holds something for 2010. 2010 promises to be a great year. I’m getting married to the woman I love, and I’m embarking on a next phase in my career. I’m excited about the future. Are you?
